HALIFAX - The Green party is promising tax breaks for low-income earners and for industries that cut carbon emissions.
  
In releasing the party's platform on Wednesday in downtown Halifax, Green Leader Elizabeth May called her promises a realistic approach to dealing with climate change and economic instability while closing the gap between rich and poor.

"We are the realists," she said in a statement. "While other parties look backward and resist change, we face the major threats of our time."

May said each program that has been promised has a cost attached to it, but overall, the Greens would maintain a budget surplus.

The document is called "Looking Forward: a fresh perspective on Canada's future" and it promises to give tax breaks to industries that slice carbon output.

The Green says they would bring in a $50 per tonne carbon tax and taxes on toxic chemicals. They would use that revenue to cut payroll and income taxes.

Companies would see their corporate taxes reduced by $50 for each tonne of carbon emissions they cut.

In addition, the Greens say they'll hike the GST by one percentage point to six per cent to help municipalities pay for improvements to their crumbling infrastructure and public transit.

The party is also promising to support the introduction of income splitting at tax time, while reducing contributions by employers to Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan.

May used the release of her platform to criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper's management of the economy.

"Conservative Leader Stephen Harper promises a steady hand at the wheel, but he is like a stubborn, frightened captain steering his ship toward a dangerous reef," May said in a statement.

"The Green Party is a democratic party. With the help of all Canadians, we will take our country in a direction for which future generations will thank us."

Earlier Wednesday while campaigning in Ontario, Harper linked the Greens and Liberals, saying both parties want to increase taxes, while his party is the only one that can be relied on to cut them.

The Greens are also promising to:

  • Cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050.
  • Expand research and development of low-carbon technologies.
  • Boost spending for universities and college and cutting student debts.
  • Change the focus of the Canadian military to peacekeeping through the United Nations.
  • Eliminate personal taxes on incomes below the low-income cut-off, which is defined as $20,000 for a single person living in a city.